7 Reasons Kids Need Fewer Toys

If you have kids, you’re probably used to seeing toys strewn all over your living space. And you may be wondering if so many playthings are really necessary.

I reflected on this years ago, when my son was a toddler; he had numerous toys, including some very fancy Legos, and the latest Fisher Price shape-matching set, but what he loved best was to be in the kitchen, banging pots and pans together. So why was I spending so much on toys?

Here are 7 good reasons to limit the number of kids’ products and toys.

1. Children develop longer attention spans. How many of us parents have watched as our children move from one toy to another, really not focused on any individual task? When too many toys are introduced into the lives of kids, their attention span will begin to suffer. A child will rarely learn to appreciate the toy in front of them when he knows there are countless options still remaining on the shelf behind him.

2. Children learn to be more creative. Too many toys prevent kids from developing their own imagination. Two German public health workers conducted an experiment in which they persuaded a kindergarten classroom to remove all of their toys for three months. After an initial period of hesitation, the children began to use their basic surroundings to invent games and use imagination in their playing. Children don’t need expensive gadgets to be creative.

3. Children become more resourceful. They will solve problems with items they have on hand, and resourcefulness is a gift with unlimited potential. With the Common Core Standards that are guiding the education in many of our schools now, students don’t just have to find the answer to a problem; what’s important is encouraging them to understand basic concepts and apply their thinking to new ideas. In entertainment and play, the same principle can be applied.

4. Children experience more of nature. Children who do not have a bedroom full of toys are more likely to play outside and develop a deep appreciation for nature. They are also more likely to be involved in physical exercise which results in healthier and happier bodies. How much better it is for our youngsters to be running, skipping, jumping or simply examining a bug with a magnifying glass than to see them always hunched over their Xbox at home!

5. Children know what to do with their “down time.” Talking with my high school students last week, I discovered that many of them didn’t know what “down time” was because they are always so scheduled, or because they are always playing with their social media gadgets. Others said they wouldn’t know what to do if they did have any free time. We need to limit use of those electronic toys, so that our children can become more self-reliant.

6. Children learn perseverance. Children who have too many toys give up too quickly. If they have a toy that they can’t figure out, it will quickly be discarded for the sake of a different, easier one. Kids with fewer toys get better training in perseverance and patience.

7. Kids develop a greater love for reading, writing and art. Instead of those fancy toys, why not give children crayons, colored pencils, big sheets of paper? Fewer toys allows children to love books, music, coloring and painting. And a love for art will help them develop a better appreciation of beauty and communication in their world.

Play is hugely important in the development of young children, not to mention in the lives of adults! But play doesn’t mean a mountain of toys. It’s important that kids learn the inner satisfaction of knowing they can take care of themselves, without the help of the latest game or toy.

More, bigger, better packaged toys do nothing but flood an otherwise creative genius totally capable and inquisitive enough to find his/her own way through life while learning as they go, coming out the other end, hopefully, a well rounded person through the awareness they were allowed to expand.

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